Results 11,321-11,340 of 11,812 for speaker:Denis O'Donovan

Seanad: North-South Co-operation on Sex Offenders: Statements (30 Nov 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I welcome this debate and welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, to the House. Significant progress has been made in legislating for sex offences in the past decade or so. It is regrettable that we were not debating this 30 years ago. However, circumstances have changed. For such legislation to be a success, it is critical that there be international co-operation. However,...

Seanad: Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy (17 Nov 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I pay tribute to Kieran in a way that celebrates his life rather than sorrowfully, as sorrow passed in the beautiful ceremony on the day of his funeral and in the proceedings before it such as at his removal from Dublin and so on. My first memory of Kieran is while we were canvassing in County Tipperary during the 1997 Seanad election campaign. We were on the same panel and while it is...

Seanad: Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy (17 Nov 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: We were poaching as best we could. However, we met on the same evening that Michael Smith had been appointed as Minister. At approximately 9 p.m., when most people would have been finishing canvassing, we both received news that a celebration was taking place in Thurles for Michael O'Kennedy and Michael Smith, that all of the councillors in the Tipperary region probably would be there and...

Seanad: Fisheries Protection (10 Nov 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Connick, for taking this matter. To synopsise it in a nutshell, Garnish is a little fishing hamlet in the Beara Peninsula, about 15 miles west of Castletownbere, facing primarily onto Kenmare Bay. Beara, Castletownbere and the general area are renowned for their fishing activity and in the small community of Garnish there are in the region of 20 or 25...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (9 Nov 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Haughey, and thank him for replying to this Adjournment matter, which concerns the current situation regarding the construction of two schools in Bantry, a new gaelscoil on a greenfield site and a new community school, or community college as some call it. This is a pet project for me. Approximately 15 years ago we eventually persuaded the...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (9 Nov 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I thank the Minister of State for his response, which has covered the areas of concern. I am reassured the situation as outlined will ensure the projects will be completed as far as possible within the approximate timeframe originally envisaged.

Seanad: Overcrowding in Prisons: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I welcome the Minister to the House and this debate on prisons in general. I have been a Member of the House for 17 years and in the period 1994 to 1997, the coalition Government made a decision that cancelled all capital expenditure on prisons, the effect of which was to leave the incoming Government in 1997 playing catch-up with the provision of prison spaces and prison development. This...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: Will the Leader to convey to the Cabinet the urgent need not only for a debate on the Roscommon case but for a referendum? We should reflect that in 1999 the then Minister, Deputy Frank Fahey, who had the portfolio of responsibility for children, wrote to the then chairman of the Joint Committee on the Constitution, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to ask it to carry out a constitutional review to...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: It is time we stopped shilly-shallying and bowing our heads to these right-wing extremists who are worse than the Ku Klux Klan.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: The issue of the children's hospital was raised by my colleague, Senator Norris. I knew a mother on the Beara Peninsula who had got out of bed at 2.30 a.m. week after week to catch the train to Dublin and then take a taxi from Heuston Station to visit the old Crumlin Hospital with two sick children. Such people, whether on the Beara Peninsula, in Dingle, County Donegal or Dublin, are...

Seanad: Flood Relief (12 Oct 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I welcome the Minister of State and convey my gratitude for his interest in and support for areas affected by flooding. This is a parochial matter for everyone. The Minister of State was in Skibbereen and knows the area quite well. The concerns expressed by the local flood committee relate to a number of items identified as housekeeping or basic works to be done on the River Ilen or the...

Seanad: Flood Relief (12 Oct 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: We all do.

Seanad: Flood Relief (12 Oct 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I accept the Minister of State's sincerity in addressing the issue. I am delighted he has agreed to attend the forum in Skibbereen, which is not just parochial. The plan is to rotate to Ennis and other towns to achieve solutions to the flooding problem. People in many areas suffered last year. Cork city, Bandon and Skibbereen all suffered. Skibbereen was on the long finger for many years...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Oct 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I will not ask for the old chestnut, a debate with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, as the Leader has already promised to arrange such a debate. Will he arrange a debate with the Minister for Transport on the certificate of compliance with the code of safety for small vessels, a matter I discussed some time ago? Currently, there are 63 trawlers, each employing approximately...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Oct 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: -----the Minister in question I will not keep him more than four hours.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Sep 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: Without taking away from the seriousness of the banking and financial crisis in this country, I ask the Leader to have a debate on the fishing industry as a matter of urgency. This was promised to me in May 2009. Stringent new requirements of the Department of Transport mean 33 fishing vessels in Rossaveal, Dingle, Castletownbere, Union Hall or Dunmore East will be tied to piers at a loss...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: An abstention is recorded.

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Jul 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: Will the Leader to ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government about the proposed overview of planning in Cork city and County Cork? He should also examine the glaring inconsistencies as regards one-off houses and in planning policies in rural areas. I do not refer to developments in towns but to how families, sons, daughters, nephews and nieces, find it almost...

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Jul 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I do not always praise Fine Gael, but Senator Coffey tabled amendments on Committee and Report Stages, at which point I decided not to support the Bill. They amendments were neglected by the Minister ridiculously. This morning four or five Fianna Fáil backbenchers have come out and claimed credit for the changes to be made. Deputy Jackie Healy-Rae is also claiming credit, as is Deputy...

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Jul 2010)

Denis O'Donovan: I have been asking for a debate on fisheries for over 12 months, particularly in the light of the Common Fisheries Policy which is being negotiated in the European Union. It will lay down a marker in terms of the rights of fishermen and their quotas in the next decade. It is important that the House debate this critical issue for a couple of hours in the next few weeks. I received a...